Sheet-lifting mechanism.



H. STEINMEIZ. SH-EET LIFTING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT- 3,19l5.

Patented Nov. 7, 1916.

4 SHEETSSHEET I ZJ'A ATTORNEYS v Hlhl .llllml w mri u za gj/ H.STEINMETZ.

SHEET UFTING MECHANlSM.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 3. m5.

1,203,980. Patented Nov. 7, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

2 43; .12 INVENTOR M A TTOR/VE rs 4: Nana sPETERSCILFHUTWLII'NO.WASNINUYUN n c firmm Stemmef H. STEFNMETZ.

SHEET LIFTING MECHANiSM.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 3. 1915.

Patented Nov. 7, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3 Jirzm Sta 1277265;

hid A TTORl/E Y5 m: mmms PETENS cu.. P'NOYU-LHNQ. wAsNlNum'v n c H.STElNMETZ.

SHEET LIFTING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 3, 1915.

1 ,203,930. Patented Nov. 7, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

5.9 a l 5 I g .15 a M IN VE N TOR Mum/21mg UNITED ST.ATE PATENT @FFIQE.

HERMAN STEINIVIE'TZ, 0F RQCl-IESTER, NEW YQRK.

SHEET-LIFTING MECHANISM.

Application filed September 3, 1915.

To all "whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HERMAN Srnmarnrz, of Rochester, in the county ofMonroe and fatate of New York, have invented certain new and usefulimprovements in Sheet-Lift ing Mechanisms; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of th sspecification, and to the reference-numerals marked thereon.

My present invention has for its object to provide improved mechanismadapted for lifting a sheet or leaf from a pile, in such a manner as toprevent feeding more than one sheet at a time and whereby a single sheetengaging member may be employed to operate successively on the differentsheets.

Another purpose of the invention is to provide a sheet guard to engageand positively held against movement the sheets under the one to belifted.

To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvementsand combi nations of parts all as will be hereinafter more fullydescribed, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the endof the specification.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a view in front elevation of one embodimentof my invention as applied to a music sheet mechanism, or the like, andshowing the normal position of the sheet engaging device; Fig.

is side elevation showing the sheet endeviee in normal position and therelative position of a guard for engaging the sheets under the uppermostone; Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the position of the sheet engagingdevice and guard memher after their initial operative movement; Fig. lis a view in front elevation, showing the relative positions of thesheet engaging device and guard member after sheet has been turned, andbefore the engaging device has released its hold upon the sheet and begun to return to its normal position; Fig. 5 is an enlar ed sectionalview through the sheet engaging device when the same is in normalposition upon the sheets, which are held by the supporting stand; Fig. 6is a top plan view showing the sheet engaging device and guard membersin their normal Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 7, 1916.

Serial No. 48,752.

tion of the sheet engaging device after the same has moved one of thesheets from the position shown in Fig. 6, or a right hand position, to aleft hand position, and just previous to the releasing of the sheet bythe engaging device; Fig. 8 is a fragmentary rear elevational view of aportion of the operating and releasing mechanism controlling the sheetengaging device and guard member; Fig. 9 is a sectional elevation takenon line art of Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken on line 5-6 ofFig. 8; Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken through the support for thesheet engaging device, when the same has reached a positionsubstantially at right-angles to the sheet supporting stand; F 12 is afront elevation with the cover plates removed to show the operatingmechanism in its normal position: Fig. 13 is an elevational view partlyin section, showing the position of the cylinders and other movableparts upon the initial operative movement of the sheet engaging device;Fig. 1% is a view in elevation showing the position of the cylinders andother movable parts after the sheet engaging device has reachedsubstantially its extreme operative position, and before the cylindershave been released to return the sheet engaging device to its normalposition; Fig. 15 is an elevational view showing the position of thecylinders after they have been released, and have raised the support forthe sheet engaging device to its highest elevation, at which point itbegins to rotate back to its normal position; Fig lo is a similar viewshowing the support for the sheet engaging device, after it haspartially returned to normal position, and Fig. 17 is a sectional viewtaken on line cc of Fig. 16.

Similar reference numerals throughout the several views indicate thesame parts.

The invention is susceptible of any application, where there is arequirement to grip one of a series of sheets and remove it from thepile on which it rests, and the present embodiment will serve as anillustration of one manner of adapting the improvements to a particularmechanism. lhe structure shown comprises a sheet music stand or rackpreferably consisting of the frames 1 spaced apart and connected at thetop and bottom by means of the straps 2 and 3 respectively. Front andback cover plates 4 and 5 are provided for inclosing between the frames1, the parts of the operating mechanism which will be hereinafterdescribed. Near the bottom of the stand is positioned a sheet or booksupport 6 adjustably secured to a. bracket 7 preferably by means of aclamping screw 8 carried by the support and arranged to move up and downin a slot 9 formed in the bracket 7. A pair of front guides 10 and 11are secured at their ends to the top and bottom straps 2 and 3 and aguide 12 in the rear of the guide 10 is also secured at its ends to thestraps 2 and 3. A pair of cylinders 13 and 14 are mounted between theguides 10 and 11 and are arranged to move up and down thereon in amanner which will be hereinafter described. A sleeve 15 is slidablymounted on the guide 11 and is rigidly connected at its top with across-head 16 which extends diagonally across the top of the cylinder 13to slidably engage the guide 12, and at the bottom of the sleeve 15 is arigidly connected stop 17. The cylinder 13 is provided near its top witha projecting member 18 slidably en aging the guides 10 and 12. A spring19is mounted on the guide 12 with one end seated against the under sideof the projecting member 18 and the other on the strap 3 as shown inFig. 8. The spring 19 holds the cylinder 13 against the bottom of thecross-head 16 when the parts are in their normal position. The bottom ofthe cylinder 13 is provided with a cylinder head 20 which extendslaterally for sliding engagement with the guide 10 and sleeve 15. Thecylinder 14 is also provided with a head 21 which likewise extendslaterally for sliding engagement with the guide 10 and sleeve 15. Aspring 22 is mounted on the sleeve 15 between the heads 20 and 21 andserves to normally hold the c linders apart as shown in F 12; the head21 being held against downward movement by the stop 17 on the bottom ofthe sleeve 15. The cylinder 14 is also provided with a projecting member23 in sliding engagement with the guide 10 for holding the cylinder inproper alinement be tween the guides 10 and 11. As a means for movingthe cylinders from the position shown in Fig. 12 to the position shown.in Fig. 14, which is the extreme lowermost position of the parts, Iprovide a pair of levers and 25 pivotally connected by a link 26 at 27and 28. The lever 24 is adapted to extend beyond the frame 1 as shown atto provide a handle for operating the cylinders in a manner which willpresently be described. The lever 24 is pivoted to the frame at 30 andthe lever at 31. A link 32 is pivotally connected at 33 to the inner endof the lever 25 and at 34 to the projection l8'carried by the cylinder13. By depressing the handle 29 of lever 24, the link 32 will cause thecylinders 13 and 14 to move down upon the guides 10 and 11 to the position shown in Fig. 14, and upon releasing the lever 24 the spring 19will return the cylinders to their normal position. The sheet engagingdevice includes a suction head 35 which carries a hollow extension 36mounted on a hollow support 37. The latter extends to the center of thestand, and connects with a hollow shaft 38, preferably by means of ajoint 39, while shaft 38 is slidably mounted in the strap'2.

- The shaft 38 is connected with a tube 40 preferably by means of ascrew 41 passing through a collar 42 mounted on the shaft 38. The tube40 carries a spiral 43 which is adapted to move up and down through anopening 44 formed in the cro'sshead 16. On the bottom of the spiralandwithin the cylinder 13 are secured pistons 45 and 46 spaced apart by athimble 47 through which a hollow extension 48 on the spiralis carriedto connect with the piston 46 by means of the screw 49. The hollowextension 48 is provided with cuts 50 through its walls registering withcuts through the side walls of the thimble to form openings leading intothe chamber 51 formed between the pistons 45 and 46. An opening 52 isformed through the screw 49 to connect the cylinder below the piston 46with the opening through the hollow extension 48 and the registeringopenings formed by the cuts 50 in the side walls of the hollow extension48 and thimble 47. An opening 53 is formed through the spiral 43 andtube 40 to connect the hollow extension 48 with the openings through theshaft 38, joint 39, support 37 and extension 36 leading to the suction Ihead 35. Mounted in the cylinder 13 below the piston 46 is a piston 54provided with a stem 55 extending through the piston head 20 and havingon its lower extremity a head 56. Mounted on the stem 55 between thehead 56. and the piston head 20 is a spring 57 normally serving to holdthe piston 54 at the bottom of the cylinder 13, as shown'in Fig. 12. Astationary piston 58 is mounted in the cylinder 14 and is supported by ahollow stem 59 rigidly connected with a bracket 60 mounted on the guide10 and held thereon preferably by a set screw 61. An opening is formedthrough the inner end of the bracket 60 large enough to permit thespring 57 and head 56 of the stem 55 to extend therethrough into thehollow stem 59which is adapted to guide the spring and head 56 looselytherein during their up and down movement. After the cylinders have beenmoved to their lowermost position at which time the suction head hasreached the position shown in Figs.

ifu

93 is pointed at 94 to facilitate its entrance under the uppermost sheetas it is pulled away from the stand in the manner inclicated in Fig. 3.The sheet guard is normally held against the back of the extension 36carrying the suction head 35 by means of a spring 95 mounted on the rod91. The top end of the spring is secured to the rod by means of a pin 96and the bottom end bears against the sleeve-15 as clearly shown in Fig.17. The spring is applied with suflicient tension to cause the sheetguard to normally take the position indicated in Figs. 2 and 6 and theposition shown in Fig. 3 when the suction head is moved forwardly. The

sheet guard is held at the height shown in Figs. 1 and :2 by means of astop 98 on the rod 91 which rests on and is held by the piston head 20.The stop 98 also serves to support the bottom end of the spring 95 asindicated in Figs. 8 and 9. In operating the parts, it is necessary tomove the sheet guard both forwardly and downwardly and then rearwardlyand downwardly at the same time from the normal position shown in Fig. 2to the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3. The downwardmovement of the guard is accomplished simultaneously with the downwardmovement of the cylinders as will be readily seen, while the forwardmovement is accomplished by the action of the spring 95, but therearward iovement requires additional meanswhich comprises preferably apin projection 99 carried by the frame, spaced slightly from and in rearof which is provided a movable, forwardly inclined finger 100 seated ona support 101 rigidly mounted on the rod 91 of the sheet guard. In thefirst instance the pin 99 serves as a stop to prevent the sheet guardfrom moving forwardly of the position shown in Fig. 3 other than alimited amount. In the second instance it causes the forwardly extendingfinger 100 to rotate the rod 91 rearwardly and consequently moving thearm 92 and finger 93 at the same time this being accomplished aspreviously stated, by the downward movement of the cylinders, theforwardly inclined finger moving downwardly with considerable speedquickly places the guard in the position shown in Fig. 3 between thefirst and second sheets as the top of the first sheet is drawn out bythe initial movement of the suction head It has been assumed that thesecond sheet shown at 102, may in some instances be drawn out from thestand, as indicated in Fig. 3, possibly by frictional engagement withthe first sheet. The suction member is therefore so arranged that incase the sheets should stick along certain portions of their contactingsurfaces the suction is applied in such a manner as to insure thecomplete separation of the first sheet from those under it, and topermit the sheet guard finger to move to take a position infront of thesecond sheet to insure manipulatmg the latter upon the stand as thefirst sheet is carried over by the suction member.

The spring on the rod 91 is so tenthe guard being shown in Fig. 3, theguard I in this figure being in advance of the guard shown in Fig. 2.Obviously the spring 95 may be so tensioned' and the projection 99 sopositioned as to permit further outward movement of the guard than thatshown if it is desired to increase said movement. The

purposes of such outward movement are twofold. In the first instance, asalready stated, it is necessary to insure the keeping of the guard infront of the sheets under the uppermost one, which may tend to moveoutwardly during the operation of the machine. Secondly, when the sheetsare in book form, they constitute a greater thickness than in the caseof a few loose sheets placed on the stand and therefore, it is necessaryto provide means for moving the sheet guard outwardly a sufficientdistance to accommodate such books and this has been done ,in'thepresent embodiment. The complete operation of the sheet guard comprisesa slight downward movement, followed by a forward movement and thencedownwardly and rearwardly to the position shown by dotted lines in Fig.3. A recess in the top of the right hand frame is indicated at 103 whichis provided for receiving the finger 93 of the sheet guard when thereare no sheets positioned upon the stand.

In the construction of the sheet engaging suction head 35, an enlargedsection of which is shown in Fig. 5, I have provided a bowl 104: withwhich communicates a pas sage 105 leading through the extension 36,support 37, shaft 38 and tube 40,.into the opening 53 through the spiral13 and pistons carried thereon within the cylinder 13. Positioned withinthe bowl 104 is a yoke 106 carried by a ring 107 supported by a shoulder108 formed on the bowl. A flexible member or diaphragm 109, preferablyformed of soft thin rubber, is mounted on the ring 107, and extendingaround the peripherythereof and terminating behind the ring so as torest upon the shoulder 108 as shown in Fig. The diaphragm and ring areheld upon the shoulder 108 by means of an annular clamping member 110through which the diaphragm extends, and which is secured to the bow bymeans of suitable screws 111. Extending through the diaphragm at a pointeccentrically thereof, is a tubular member 112 provided with a circularflange 113, having a series of radial grooves 114 formed on its outerface, and leading into an opening 115 through the tubular member, saidopening communicating with a suction chamber 116 formed between the bowland the diaphragm 109. Positioned on the tubular member at the back ofthe flange 113 is a flexible sheet engaging member 117 preferably cupshaped, and of greater diameter than the circular flange, the same beingarranged to extend into engagement with the sheet 102, and formedpreferably of flexible material such as rubber or any other materialsuitable for the purpose. The back of the circular flange is beveled asshown at 118 to give the proper concavity to the cup shaped member. Thecup shaped member is held upon the flange 118 by means of a sleeve 119mounted on the tubular member and provided with an annular flange 120for engaging the back of the said member. The outer end of the sleeve isangular with respect to its axis to receive the diaphragm 109 and toposition the tubular member at the proper angle with respect to the bowlto permit the latter to be supported in the position shown in Fig. 5while the tubular member stands at av right-angle to the sheet 102. Thediaphragm is held upon the sleeve by means of a correspondingly formedclamping member 121 mounted on the tubular member and arranged to beheld thereon by means of a pin 122 passing through both the clamping andtubular members. The tubular member is made to extend beyond theclamping member in order to provide means for holding seated upon theclamping member one end of a light wire spring in the manner shown. Theother end of the spring is held preferably by being extended behind aprojecting member 124 carried by the yoke 106. The action of gravitywill hold the bowl of the suction head in the position shown in Fig. 5and the spring 123 normally holds the cup shaped member 117 against thesheet 102. he suction produced by the pistons in the cylinder 13 will,when the machine is being operated, draw into the bowl the diaphragm orflexible member 109 and certain parts connected therewith until the cupshaped member reaches the position shown in Fig. 3. In order to preventthe cup shaped member from being drawn entirely into the bowl, I haveprovided on the flange 120 of the sleeve 119. projecting arms 125 asshown in Figs. 3 and 7, which engage the clamping memher 110 aftersuction in the bowl has caused the diaphragm 109 to be drawn inwardlyuntil the leaf engaging surface of cup shaped member assumes a positionsubstantially parallel with the face of the clamp ing member 110. Anyfurther inward movement of the cup shaped member is thus prevented bythe contacting of the arms 125 with the clamping member 110.' If the cupwere allowed to be drawn entirely into the bowl, such action would tendto cause the release of the sheet by the cup before the operation ofturning the sheet was comp-leted.

The bowl of the suction head is arranged at an angle to the frame, withthe bottom edge of the clamping member thereon bearing against the sheet102 as shown in Fig. 4

for the purpose of providing a pivot point about which the top of theleaf, or that por ion in front of the suction head. may pivot in movingoutwardly during the period of time in which the diaphragm is eingsucked into the bowl. This operation is for the purpose of separatingthe first sheet from those underneath during the initial movement of theparts after which the sheet guard moves in front of the second sheet andholds the same upon the frame. By disposing the tubular member 112eccentrically of the flexible diaphragm, or so that its longitudinalaxis. when in normal position, is at some angle other than a rightangleto the plane in which the diaphragm is supported. I obtain a swingingmovement of the sheet engaging member or cup 117. relatively to thesheet and to the bowl. The result is that the sheet engaging membermoves into the bowl in a curved pat-h, one

edge traveling faster than the other. and

thus moving one portion of the sheet faster than another. so that apivotal movement of the edge portion of the sheet is obtained, while thebody of the sheet is held fixed. until the cup has moved within the bowland the entire arm or support for the srieet engaging member commencesto move.

It will be apparent that the novel form of suction heads and cup which Ihave just described possesses advantages and features that make itadaptable for other uses and types of apparatus than that herein setforth, as for instance, it can be employed with great success forfeeding sheets in printing machinery. and other apparatus that requiresuccessively lifting single sheets from a pack.

In the operation of my improved sheet turner. after the sheets have beenplaced on the stand with the sheet engaging suction head in the positionshown in Fig. 1, the operator forces down the lever 2% by pressing onthe extension 29 until the cylinders 13 and 11- reach the position shownin Fig. 1d, at which time the shoulder 65 on the catch 63 has engagedthe pin 66 to lock the cylinders until the sheet is released by thesuction head. The catch 63 is tripped automatically with the releasingof the sheet by the suction head. and the cylinders are then returned totheir normal position by the action of the spring 19. In the downwardmovement of the cylinder 13 the 'same will reach approximately theposition shown in Fig. 13 before the sleeve 15 forces the cross-head 16into engagement with the spiral 43 sufliciently to move the suction headany appreciable distance from its normal position. By the time thecylinder has reached this position enough suction will have been createdthrough the hollow members leading to the suction head by the separationof the pistons 46 and 5st to cause the sheet engaging cup to take theposition shown in Fig. 3.

.The holding of the cross-head 16 in its approximate normal positionduring the initial downward movement of the cylinder 13 is due to theretarding of tne sleeve 15 by suction in the cylinder ll between tnehead thereof and the piston 58, the port 83 in the bottom of thecylinder being extremely small it admits air to the cylinder very slowlyand consequently if the cylinder is moved down the tendency is toproduce therein a partial vacuum, thus retarding the cylinder enough toallow the diaphragm to be drawn into the bowl to move the top of thesheet outwardly before the suction head proper begins to move. It willbe understood of course that the piston 58 is held stationary by thestem 59 while the cylinder llmoves up and down thereon. The initialdownward movement of the cylinder 13 will however,

through the compression of the spring cause a slight downward movementof the cylinder l t, which is momentarily arrested by the suction in thecylinder, long enough at least to allow the diaphragm to pull out thetop of the main or body por tion.

The initial downward movement of the cylinder 14- as just described,will of course pull down the cross-head 16 and if the same cameimmediately into contact with the spiral -13 the suction head properwould begin to rotate before the diaphragm could be drawn into the bowl.In order torover come this objection the cross-head in its normalposition has been placed a, little above the top of the spiral 4:3 asshown in Fig. 12 so that the initial downward movement of the cylinder1st may take place without rotating the support 37 or moring the suctionhead proper. In the operation of rotating the suction head and itssupport from the position shown in Fig. 6 to that shown in Fig. 7 it isdesirable that the first half of the movement be relatively slower thanthe last half. For the first half of said rotating movementthe speed atwhich the suction head moves is controlled by the suction in thecylinder 14 during the movement of the cylinder from its normal positionto a position where the port 82 passes the bottom of the piston 58. At

this point the speed at which the rotating.

parts are moving is increased by the additional intake of air in thecylinder through the port 8:2, as well as by reason of the fact that assoon as the suction head and its support pass to the left of the centerof the machine the action of gravity will tend to assist in carryingthem over. From this time on, these parts are descending, as they moveto the position shown in Fig. 7, it being obvious that the suction headwill be at a. higher point in the center of the machine than at eitherside, due to the angular position of the stand. In the normal positionof the cylinders, the piston 5% held down against the cylinder head 20and the upturned end 7-5 of the arm *4 will cause the lever 69 toprevent tie cap.

from closing the port 79 near the top of the cylinder 13. After thecylinder 13 and piston 54- have begun to move down wardly andconsequently to produce sue tion between the pistons l9 and 54,atmospheric pressure in the cylinder below the piston ol will to acertain extent overcome the tension of the spring 57 and will elevatethe piston 51- to the approximate position shown in Fig. 13. As soon asthe piston head 54 has released the lever arm 7a the spring 81 operatesto move the top of the lever 69 inwardly to cause the cap 80 to closethe port 7 9. At the same time the catch 63 is forced into position, bythe spring 68; to ride over the pin 66 when the shoulder 63 engages thepin at the end of the downward stroke of the cylinders. By this time thechamber 51 between the pistons to and a6 is opposite the port 79; asshown in Fig. 1-l, with the suction head in the position shown in Fig.7. Under normal conditions with the parts in the positions justdescribed the releasing of the sheet by the suction head is caused bythe gradual leaking of air until the suction in the cylinder is overcomeand the pressure therein equalized with the outside pressure at whichtime the piston 5% is forced down to the bottom of the cylinder toengage the top of the lever arm '7 for the purpose of releasing thecatch 63, thus allowing the spring 19 to return the cylinders to theirnormal position. As the cylinder 13 moves up the cross-head carries thespiral with it and without turning the same until the collar 40 strikesthe underside of the strap 2 as shown in Fig. 15,, after which time thecontinued upward movement of the crosshead causes the spiral to rotatethe suction head and support to the right of the center of the machine ashort distance until gravity begins to carry the suction head back toits normal position, the pistons 45 and t6 rotating .and descending inthe cylinder 13 at the same time. In some instances it is possible forenough leakage of air into the cylinder 13 between the pistons 46 and54:

to cause the latter, with he aid of the spring 5?, to move down andoperate the lever arm T l to release the ca ch before the sheet itselfhas been released by the suction head. In this case the elevating of theparts to the position shown in Fig. 15 would cause the suction member tocarry the sheet witl it about the stand instead of releasing anddepositing the same upon the stand. Such displacement of the sheet ispre ented hy the simultaneous opening of the port 79 with the releasingof the catch 63 by the projection '72 on the lever arm 74-, whereby airis admitted through he port 79 to the chamber 51, the extension +1.8 andthe other hollow members intervening between the extension and thesuction head. By this means the sheet, if not previously released by thesuction head as intended, will be automatically discharged with thebeginning of the upward movement of the cylinders and spiral 4-3 andother parts supported thereon.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a member for engaging one of a series of sheets,of a guard, means for operating said engaging member to lift the sheetengaged thereby, and means for causing the guard to move downwardly andforwardly during the initial operation of the leaf engaging member andthence rear *ardly and downwardly to prevent the turning of the adjacentsheet.

The combination with a sheet engaging member, of a guard normallypositioned above and in front of said sheets, an inclined member movablewith the guard, means for operating the sheet engaging member to liftthe sheet engaged thereby and to move the guard downwardly, andstationary means cooperating with the inclined member for moving theguard rearwa-rdly during its downward movement, whereby said adjacentsheet is prevented from being turned.

3. The combination with a suction mem her for engaging a eaf, of ahollow rotary support for the suction member, mechanism in engagementwith the rotary support for exhausting air from the suction member androtating the support. and means for locking said mechanism when thesupport has reached the limit of its rotating movement.

1-. The combination with a suction member for engaging leaf. of hollowrotary support for the suction member, operating mechanism in engagementwith the rotary support for exhausting air from the suction member androtating the support, locking mechanism for retaining the operatingmechanism in position to hold the rotary support at the limit of itsrotating movement, and means controlled by leakage of air for releasingsaid locking mechanism.

5. The combination with a suction memher for engaging a leaf, of ahollow rotary support for the suction member, operating mechanism inengagement with the rotary support for exhausting air from the sec tionmem er and rotating the support, locking mechanism for retaining theoperating mechanism in position to hold the rotary support at the limitof its rotating movement, means controlled by leaking of air into thesuction member for releasing said locking mechanism, and means forreturning the operating mechanism and rotary support to their normalpositions upon releasing of the locking mechanism.

6. The combination with. a suction member for engaging aleaf, of ahollow rotary support for toe suction member, operating mechanism inengagement with the support for exhausting air from the suction memberand rotating the support, locking mech anism for retaining the operatingmechanism in position to hold the rotary support at the limit of itsrotating movement. means controlled by leaking of air into the suctionmember for releasing said locl'ing mechanism, and means for causing theoperating mechanism to first elevate the rotary support and then returthe same to its normal position.

7. The combination with a suction head, of a sheet engaging member, aflexible member connected with and supporting said sheet engaging memberbodily, means for supporting the flexible meml er, and means connectedtherewith for producing suction upon the flexible member to operate theleaf engaging member for the purpose of a port-ion of a sheet.

The combination with a sheet engaging member, of a diaphragm connectedwith and supporting said sheet engaging member bodily, and means formoving the diaphragm to cause the sheet engaging memher to be operatedand the sheet to be lifted.

9. The combination with a suction head normally in engagement with asheet, of a cylinder, a piston mounted in tie cvlinder, a hollow memberconnecting t-ie cylinder and the piston with the suction nead. a secondpiston mounted in the cylinder normally in proximity to the firstmentioned piston, means for cldingl v holding the last mentioned pistonin the. cylinder. mechanism for depressing the cylinder for the purposeof increasing the distance bet the pistons in order to create suctionupon the sheet through the honor. member and the suction head, means f rmoving the hollow member and suction head simultaneouslv upon depressingthe cylinder whereby said sheet is lift d. and means controlled by theyieldingly mounted piston for looking the cylinder after the same hasbeen depressed.

10. The combination with a suction head normally in engagement with asheet, of a cylinder, a piston mounted in the cylinder, a hollow memberconnecting the cylinder and the piston with the suction head, a secondpiston mounted in the cylinder normally in proximity to the firstmentioned piston, means for yieldingly holding the last mentioned pistonin the cylinde mechanism for depressing the cylinder to increase thedistance between the pistons in order to create suction upon the sheetthrough the hollow member and the suction head, means for moving thehollow member and suction head simultaneously upon depressing thecylinder whereby said sheet is lifted, and means controlled by theyieldingly mounted piston for both locking and releasing the cylinder atthe end of its downward movement.

11. The combination witha suction head normally in engagement with asheet,'of a cylinder, a piston mounted in the cylinder, a hollow memberconnecting the cylinder and the piston with the suction head, a secondpiston movably mounted in the cylinder normally in proximity to thefirst mentioned piston, means for yieldingly controlling the movement ofsaid last mentioned piston, mechanism for depressing the cylinder toincrease the distance bet-w en the pistons in order to create suctionupon the sheet through the hollow member and the suction head, means formoving the hollow member and suction head simultaneously upon depressingthe cylinder whereby said sheet is lifted, means controlled by theyieldingly mounted piston for both locking and releasing the cylinder atthe end of its downward movement, and means for returning the cylinderand the suction head to their normal positions.

12. The combination with a suction head for admitting atmosphericpressure to the second mentioned piston, means carried by the secondmentioned piston for yieldingly limiting the movement of the pistoncaused by said atmospheric pressure acting thereon in opposition to saidpartial vacuum, looking mechanism controlled by the movement of thesecond mentioned piston and released thereby to'engage said lockingmember as the cylinder reaches the end of its stroke,

and means connected with the hollow member and with the cylinder formoving the suction head to lift said sheet when the cylinder is moved.

13. A sheet lifting device comprising a hollow head for connection withsuction producing means, a flexible diaphragm mounted on the head, and asheet engaging member supported bodily upon said flexible diaphragm.

14. A sheet lifting device comprising a hollow head for connection withsuction producing means, a flexible diaphragm mounted on the head, and asheet engaging member carried by said flexible diaphragm and arrangedeccentrically thereof.

15. A sheet lifting device comprising a hollow head for connection withsuction producing means, a flexible diaphragm mounted on the head, and asheet engaging member carried by said flexible diaphragm, and having itsengaging face normally at an angle to the plane in which the diaphragmis supported and adapted to be moved into parallel relation to saidplane after the sheet is engaged.

l6. Asheet lifting device comprising a hollow head for connection withsuction producing means, a flexible diaphragm mounted on the head, asleeve carried bythe diaphragm and having its longitudinal axis normallyinclined to the plane in which the diaphragm is supported, and a sheetengaging member carried by said sleeve.

17. A sheet lifting device comprising a hollow head for connection withsuction producing means, a flexible diaphragm mounted ried by saidflexible diaphragm, and means on the head having engagement with thesheet during the initial movement of the sheet engaging member andbefore the latter is entirely engaged with the sheet.

18. A sheet lifting device comprising a hollow head for connection withsuction producing means, a flexible diaphragm mounted on the head, asheet engaging member car- V on the head, a sheet engaging membercarried by said flexible diaphragm and having its engaging face normallyat an angle to the plane in which the diaphragm is supported and adaptedto be moved into parallel relation to said plane after the sheet isengaged, and means on the head having engagement with the sheet duringthe initial movement on the head, a sheet engaging member carof thesheet engaging member and before the member carried by said sleeve, andmeans on 10 latter is entirely engaged With the sheet. the head havingengagement with the sheet 20. A sheet lifting device comprising a duringthe initial movement of the sheet enhollow head for connection Withsuction progaging member and before the latter is en- 5 ducing means, aflexible diaphragm mounted tirely engaged with the sheet.

on the head, a sleeve carried by the dia- HERMAN STEINMETZ. phragm andhaving its longitudinal axis lVitnesses:

normally inclined to the plane in which the FRANCIS JERDON, J r.,

diaphragm is supported, a sheet engaging RUssELL B. GRIFFITH.

Copies of this patent may he obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. G.

